Breaking Through

DURHAM, N.C. — If Clemson did nothing else Thursday night at Duke, in the ACC's best game of the year, the Tigers set up a compelling finish for their historic season.

James Mays pulled his jersey to his mouth, trying to wipe away the sourness. He looked up at the scoreboard, just to make sure: Duke 68, Clemson 66. Mays stared for a moment, and his head sank.

The result was familiar for Mays and the Tigers, who lost their 20th consecutive game to Duke on Thursday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The difference between these Tigers and past editions is rooted in their conviction that the ACC is theirs for the taking.

The difference lies not only in numbers -- an 18-3 record (4-3 ACC) and No. 19 national ranking, heading into today's 1 p.m. home game against Virginia. Because other Clemson teams have mowed through the front end of their schedules, only to falter.

It lies in the resiliency of Mays, whose academic ineligibility hurt Clemson in the second half of last season, and whose steal attempt on the final inbound pass Thursday helped David McClure get free for a buzzer-beating layup.

It lies on senior point guard Vernon Hamilton's forearms, dotted with needle marks from the IVs he received up until five hours before Thursday's game. He had puked his brains out for the better part of three days, so sick he went to a hospital Monday. He gasped through parts of the first half, his mouth so dry his lips stuck to his teeth. Then he sucked the life out of Cameron, hitting a layup and a 3-pointer in the final five seconds to tie the game before McClure's buzzer-beater ended the ACC's best game of the season.

It lies beneath the sweat beads on the bald head of coach Oliver Purnell, 53 years old, 19 years a head coach, and still searching for his first NCAA tournament win. In his fourth year at Clemson, the former Old Dominion player and coach finally has a team perfecting his pressure defense, a team capable of delivering Clemson's first NCAA berth since 1998.

"I think this is the best team since I've been here that's come into Cameron Indoor -- by far," Hamilton said. "And I felt like this is the best chance we had to win, and we should've won this game."

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski certainly noticed how the Tigers didn't fold in one of the nation's toughest road environments.

"Those last 10 minutes our guys had to be men because I thought (Clemson) was stronger than us," he said.

Clemson's loss doesn't necessarily forecast a collapse. But the Tigers remember how previous seasons were spoiled. Last season, they played a weak non-conference schedule, as they did this year, and started 11-0. Then they lost Mays and finished 19-13. Two years ago, they started 7-1 and finished 16-16.

"Everybody on the team knows where this team was a couple years ago," Mays said. "Nobody really wants to go back to where that was. ... It's not something we talk about a lot. But it's there."

The Tigers also know how important Mays is to their goal of making the NCAAs.

Sophomore guard K.C. Rivers might be their leading scorer, averaging 14.2 points despite not starting a game. Hamilton, from Richmond's Benedictine High, might be the ACC's most underrated guard; his 21 points on a queasy stomach Thursday tied his season high. But Mays, a 6-foot-9 junior, possesses a size-speed combination that torments coaches and draws double teams; McClure and Josh McRoberts defended him Thursday.

Clemson's coaches call Mays and junior forward Sam Perry the Energy Brothers for their contributions to the Tigers' full-court press, which they use for three-quarters of most games. Perry, who scores five points a game, isn't a complete player like Mays, who ranks first on the team in rebounds (7.1), first in steals (47) and second in points (13.5).

Mays had to showcase his skills in the regular campus gym last season when he was ineligible, playing against frat boys and business majors, who weeks earlier chanted his name. He vowed to study harder and spoke to his mother, Sandra Mays, almost every day for motivation.

"People make mistakes in life, but it's how you come back," Sandra said at Cameron after the game, recounting her advice.

Mays returned to the Tigers with an improved jump shot to complement his interior quickness. He said his absence also made him more purposeful and energetic. "If you don't learn anything from it, it's pretty much your fault," he said.

Never was his energy more apparent Thursday than with 3:31 left in the game, when he stole Greg Paulus' inbound pass and made a layup to tie the score at 60. Mays bounced under the basket, flexing his arms at his side and screaming.

Earlier in the week, he was asked what message this season sends to the college basketball community. "That Clemson is becoming a great program," he said. "And we're gonna be a force to reckon with."